Do affiliates links to my site count as Back Links ?

I just had a question regarding what actually counts as a Back Link.

I know links from other sites to your site count as Back Links, but what about all those affiliate networks? Do links going from a affiliate site to other sites count as Back Links. Lets just assume the affiliate sites are indexed.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks in advance.

 

links from affiliate sites never counted as the back links to the merchants as generally they redirect to the server of the affiliate network and from there they are redirected later on to the merchant site and that results in no impact on the back links of the merchants,...

 

I understand why affiliate links wont count if it through a service like Commission Junction, but what if my site runs its own affiliate program?

Would the links count if you run your own affiliate program and so you have some control as to how the links are placed on your affiliates pages?

what do you guys think !

 

If the affiliate links directly to your site (no third party network like CJ) then the links should count.

-Ramprof

 

As ramprof said, yes they will count. As long as the affiliates don't use nofollow links of course.

 

yes - exactly. I do this with one of my sites, and I am impolicit in my TOS for the afilliate program:

a) you may not place the nofollow attrib, or use javascript links in the afilliate code.
b) you must use the exact clod supplied, and mayu not alter it in any way.


I have been tight in policing this, and have madea few examples of afilliates by banning them for breaking TOS, then publishing the news in the afilliate newsletter mailing.

needless to say it doenst happen much anymore

 

Thanks guys, I guess working with 3rd parties makes it easier since they do all the middle work..etc, but you get no backlinks.

I'l just have to set up my own program and just have to put in the extra management time, its worth the back links. dont you think so !

 

even when you are working with the third parties they are actually helping youn in a long term run... you are getting a good amount of visitors on your website and creating a brand name (if you provide good services to the visitors)... you'll get the back links automatically if the visitors liks your services as they'll nt forget to write about in reputed forums (sometimes local too)...

 

I wonder how much it counts though if your link has their affiliate ID appended to it? For example, www.example.com/index.php?aff_id=4762379 or some such thing. Won't this be counted as a seperate page from www.example.com/index.php?aff_id=3562154 or even www.example.com/index.php?

 

1) keep in mind that your affiliate sites can't be "thin affiliate doorways" - they are treated as SPAM accoring to the Google's "Spam Recognition Guide for Raters"

2) Tym, I haven't experimented with this yet, and I'm absolutely not sure about it, but it seems to me that Google counts these pages as seperate pages. Though I'm not sure Does anyone has any proof of this?

 

I'm just thinking that the URL for this thread is http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=96277, but if we change that all important number at the end, 96277, to say http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=77269, we get an entirely different page. This would be fine with Google. But now, suppose that both 96277 and 77269 both point to this thread? I think that might appear like duplicate content, and trip a duplicate content filter or worse yet trigger a duplicate content penalty!